State Control says arms procurement system is falling behind army needs

Lithuania’s arms and military equipment procurement system is failing to keep pace with the army’s needs despite rapidly growing defence funding, LRT reported on Friday, citing an audit by the State Control.

The audit found that the share of failed procurements in the defence sector rose 2.5 times over two years, while decision-making could be faster.

State Control said both internal and external factors were preventing the system from meeting the army’s needs on time. Internal problems include changing funding opportunities and procurement priorities, outdated capability development plans, lengthy coordination procedures, a shortage of qualified specialists, insufficient monitoring of procurement efficiency and fragmented management of key arms procurement projects.

External factors include rising demand for weapons on international markets, limited manufacturer capacity, and long production and delivery times for arms and military equipment. As a result, some army needs are being met later than planned.

“Today, time in defence is just as critical a resource as funding. The doubling of failed procurements and decision coordination lasting for months directly obstruct the army’s necessary development,” State Controller Irena Segalovičienė said in a statement. “We must therefore not only review the legal framework but also eliminate other internal causes that are holding up procurements and delaying decisions.”

Audit data showed that the share of failed arms procurements increased from 24 percent in 2023 to 59 percent in 2025, even as funding grew. The reasons included changing needs, unprepared operational requirements, suppliers failing to submit offers on time, and prices that were unacceptable or too high for the contracting organisation.

Decision coordination also significantly lengthened the procurement process. In 42 percent of the cases analysed, coordination with ministry departments and advisory groups lasted between 30 and 374 days. The recommended maximum duration of an entire international procurement is 180 to 240 calendar days.

State Control also found that advisory bodies such as the Defence Resources Council and the Armaments and Military Equipment Group effectively make decisions despite lacking independent legal authority to do so. Their members, as people involved in procurements, do not declare private interests, creating risks of bias and a lack of transparency.

The Defence Resources Agency also faces a shortage of specialists with specific knowledge and military qualifications because of unsuccessful recruitment processes and the rotation of military officers, according to the audit.

Between 2023 and 2025, the Defence Resources Agency used exemptions provided under the law on public procurement in the fields of defence and security to sign 62 arms and military equipment contracts worth nearly 3.4 billion euros. These accounted for 48 percent of all arms and military equipment procurement contracts and 40 percent of their total value. State Control said the exemptions were applied lawfully.

No serious legal violations that would have changed the results of standard public arms procurements were found. However, significant control deficiencies were identified in eight of the 21 procurements examined, or 38 percent.

Procurement officials often failed to conduct or document market research during the preparation stage, creating a direct risk that public funds would be planned improperly. The audit also found that procurements sometimes began anywhere from several days to 18 months after the Public Procurement Office had issued its approval, including cases where an urgent application to the office had been required.

Control deficiencies were also found during contract execution. Information about signed contracts and their amendments was not published on time, while some contracts were carried out for a period without mandatory bank guarantees or sureties.